Hoke: Robinson Likely To Start; Explains Back-Up QB
By: Tom Millikan
Will Denard Robinson be U-M's starting quarterback Saturday at Minnesota? Michigan head coach Brady Hoke was asked that question Thursday morning on the Stoney & Bill show on 97.1 The Ticket, and his answer got right to the point.
"Yeah, we feel real good," Hoke said. "He feels better each day. It's a little bit of a different injury. But he feels good."
How difficult was it losing Robinson in their 23-9 loss at Nebraska?
"We have a lot of faith in Russell Bellamy," Hoke said "He got put in a tough situation. We have 70 guys on that trip. If you play good defense and they don't score they can't win."
Devin Gardner took more snaps in practice this week over Bellamy. Does that mean anything going forward?
"What we're trying to do is get Gardner caught up a little bit more," Hoke said. "If it was going to be between him and Bellamy it would definitely be a competition based on who played the best."
Hoke talked about why Gardner isn't the definite back-up to Robinson right now.
"At the beginning of the year we wanted our best athletes on the field so we tried him at wide receiver," Hoke explained. "We went into the year thinking if something happened to Denard in a game it would be Bellamy. If something was long-term then Devin would be the starter."
Hoke finished by talking about the Little Brown Jug game and what it means.
"It's an important trophy and we really want to keep it here," he said. "This is a Legend's division game and that championship is still out there."
